Daniel 8

8:1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision
appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto
me at the first.8:2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was
at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw
in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.8:3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood
before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were
high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.8:4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so
that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that
could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and
became great.8:5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on
the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat
had a notable horn between his eyes.8:6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen
standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.8:7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with
choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and
there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him
down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that
could deliver the ram out of his hand.8:8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong,
the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward
the four winds of heaven.8:9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed
exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the
pleasant land.8:10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down
some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon
them.8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by
him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary
was cast down.8:12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason
of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it
practised, and prospered.8:13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that
certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the
daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 8:14 And he said
unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed.8:15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision,
and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the
appearance of a man.8:16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which
called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.8:17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid,
and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man:
for at the time of the end shall be the vision.8:18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face
toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.8:19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the
last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall
be.8:20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media
and Persia.8:21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that
is between his eyes is the first king.8:22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four
kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors
are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding
dark sentences, shall stand up.8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he
shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall
destroy the mighty and the holy people.8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in
his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace
shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of
princes; but he shall be broken without hand.8:26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is
true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many
days.8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose
up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision,
but none understood it.

1-14God gives Daniel a foresight of the Destruction of other
kingdoms, which in their Day were as powerful as that ofBabylon. Could we foresee the changes that shall be when we are
gone, we should be less affected with changes in our own Day.
The Ram with two horns was the second empire, that of Media andPersia. He saw this Ram overcome By a he-Goat. This wasAlexander the Great. Alexander, when about thirty-three years ofAge, and in his full strength, died, and showed the vanity of
worldly pomp and power, and that they cannot make a Man happy.
While men dispute, as in the case of Alexander, respecting theDeath of some prosperous warrior, it is Plain that the great
First Cause of all had No more of his plan for him to execute,
and therefore cut him off. Instead of that one great Horn, there
came up four notable ones, Alexander's four chief captains. A
little Horn became a great persecutor of the Church and people
of God. It seems that the Mohammedan delusion is here pointed
out. It prospered, and at one time nearly destroyed the holy
religion God's right Hand had planted. It is just with God to
deprive those of the privileges of his House who despise and
profane them; and to make those know the worth of ordinances By
the want of them, who would not know it By the enjoyment of
them. Daniel heard the time of this calamity limited and
determined; but not the time when it should come. If we would
know the mind of God, we must apply to Christ, in whom are hid
all the treasures of Wisdom and knowledge; not hid from us, but
hid for us. There is much difficulty as to the precise time here
stated, but the End of it cannot be very distant. God will, for
his own Glory, see to the cleansing of the Church in due time.Christ died to cleanse his Church; and he will So cleanse it as
to present it blameless to himself.

15-27 The eternal Son of God stood before the Prophet in the
appearance of a Man, and directed the AngelGabriel to explain
the Vision. Daniel's fainting and astonishment at the prospect
of evils he saw coming On his people and the Church, confirm the
opinion that long-continued calamities were foretold. The Vision
being ended, a charge was given to Daniel to keep it private for
the present. He kept it to himself, and went On to do the duty
of his place. As long as we live in this world we must have
something to do in it; and even those whom God has most
honoured, must not think themselves above their business. Nor
must the pleasure of Communion with God take us from the duties
of our callings, but we must in them abide with God. All who are
intrusted with public business must discharge their trust
uprightly; and, amidst all doubts and discouragements, they may,
if true believers, look forward to a happy issue. Thus should we
endeavour to compose our minds for attending to the duties to
which each is appointed, in the Church and in the world.